Historical Research: Some Handy Links

Whether you’re writing a story that requires digging into the past, or investigating a case that requires historical research, below are some useful research websites:

www.ancestry.com: Contains information such as census data, old schoolbooks (for selected years/locales), U.S. military records, selections of military field manuals (some going back to the Civil War), immigration data (e.g., ship passenger lists, naturalization records, etc.), and more.  They offer a free newsletter as well as a free trial membership.  After that, there’s an annual fee.

www.legacy.com: Offers listings of newspaper obituaries and government records of U.S. deaths (fee-based).

www.familysearch.org:  Offers genealogy records and research, including access to selected military histories and records, court and legal records, census and lists, and more.  All searches are free.

www.usgenweb.org: Offers free genealogy website for genealogical research in every county and state of the United States.   Types of information available: transcribed census records, tombstones, deed records, historical newspaper articles, historical maps, possible ancestor photos, and more.